Nutritive value and the maximum inclusion level of pennycress meal for broiler chickens

Performance and health of broiler chickens fed low erucic acid, lower fiber pennycress (CoverCressTM) grain

CoverCress (low erucic acid, lower fiber pennycress) is being developed as a cover crop to be planted in the fall after corn and harvested in the spring prior to planting soybeans. Two experiments were conducted to evaluate 2 lines of the whole grain (CCWG-1: natural mutation and mutation breeding; CCWG-2: gene edited) and the whole grain pretreated with the potential palatability agent copper sulfate (CCWG-1-CuSO₄; CCWG-2-CuSO₄) as an ingredient for broilers. In Experiment 1, CCWG-1-CuSO₄ was included in the diet at 0, 4, and 6% for 41 d. Feed intake, body weight gain, feed conversion, processing characteristics, organ weights, serum thyroid, macropathology and histology data were collected. In Experiment 2, broilers were fed diets containing Control, 2% CCWG-1, 4% CCWG-1, 4% CCWG-2, and 4.35% CCWG-1-CuSO₄ for 42 d. Feed intake, body weight gain, feed conversion, organ weights, serum thyroid, blood chemistries, macropathology, and histology data were collected. In Experiment 1, feed intake and body weight were diminished with no effect on feed conversion for the birds consuming diets containing CCWG-1-CuSO₄. In Experiment 2, feed intake and body weight were lower with no difference in feed conversion in birds fed diets containing greater than 2% CoverCress grain during d 0 to 28. During d 28 to 42 no difference in feed intake, body weight and an improvement in feed conversion was observed in birds fed all of the CoverCress grain products. In both experiments no significant negative effects were observed in processing, liver, kidney, and thyroid weights, T3, T4, blood chemistries, macropathology, and histopathology between the control and any of the CoverCress grain treatments. No difference in performance was observed in birds fed the mutant (4% CCWG-1) and gene-edited (4% CCWG-2) products. Pretreating CoverCress grain with copper sulfate did not have a significant effect on improving palatability. In conclusion, CoverCress grain can be safely fed to broilers when included at a target rate of 4% in diets and with total glucosinolate levels not to exceed 4.9 µmoles g^-1.

Farmer Interest in and Willingness to Grow Pennycress as an Energy Feedstock

Pennycress can be used as a renewable biomass because its harvested seeds can be converted into biofuel, supplying, for example the aviation industry. Pennycress can be adopted as a winter cover crop to make extra profit in addition to summer cash crops. This study ascertains influences on row crop farmers’ interest in growing pennycress to supply a biofuels industry. The study uses data from a survey of row-crop farmers in seven US states. Effects of farm and farmer attributes on acceptance of a farmgate pennycress price are measured. Nearly 58% were interested in growing pennycress if profitable. Among those interested, 54.4% would accept the farmgate pennycress price offered. Positive influences on interest included farm size, education, and familiarity with pennycress, while concern about knowledge on growing pennycress, and use of no-till practices had negative influences. Farmers aged 40 to 65 were more likely to accept the price, while share of rented hectares and no debt had positive influences. More risk-averse farmers and those using no-till were less likely to accept. Results suggest that the majority of row crop farmers would be interested in growing pennycress if profitable, while the overall willingness to accept the farmgate price was when it was at $0.28/kg.

Cost and Profitability Analysis of a Prospective Pennycress to Sustainable Aviation Fuel Supply Chain in Southern USA

This study evaluates biorefinery bio-oil feedstock costs at the plant gate for a prospective field pennycress (Thlaspi arvense L.) to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) supply chain. The biorefinery would supply SAF to the Nashville, Tennessee international airport. Supply chain activities include pennycress production, transporting oilseed to a crushing facility, processing of oilseed into bio-oil, and transporting bio-oil to the biorefinery. The analysis shows profit potential for economic agents in the prospective supply chain. Estimated breakeven cost (profit = 0) of growing, harvesting, and transporting oilseed to a crushing facility is 17.7 ¢ kg−1. A crushing facility can pay up to 23.8 ¢ kg−1 for pennycress oilseed during the first year of production and provide investors 12.5% annual rate of return. Therefore, a profit margin of up to 6.1 ¢ kg−1 is available for the crushing facility to induce prospective pennycress producers to supply oilseed for SAF production. However, the estimated profit margin was sensitive mainly to uncertain oilseed yields, changes in field production costs, and pennycress meal and bio-oil prices. A spatial biorefineries sitting model, the Biofuels Facility Location Analysis Modeling Endeavor, estimated that the least-cost supply chain configuration is to establish three crushing facilities located in Union City, Huntington, and Clarksville, TN, to supply bio-oil to the biorefinery, with the biorefinery sited in an industrial park about 24.14 km from the Nashville international airport aviation fuel storage. Estimated total costs of bio-oil at the biorefinery plant gate are between 83 and 109 ¢ kg−1 if crushing facility oilseed procurement costs are between 17.7 and 23.8 ¢ kg−1 for oilseed.